FOREWORDAs mentioned in the Introduction, we have provided some excerpts from Yesterday to give you, the reader, a better understanding of the background and history of what you're reading in Ten Years And Muses. Any questions left unanswered can be sent to the contact information provided on our About page.Please keep in mind, Yesterday was written when we were 16 and 17 years old. Don't expect literary gold here! Take it easy on us!Taylor and Mel had decided to keep their relationship secret from everyone. We have no idea why, and it's even referenced in Yesterday of that very thing. Mel and Taylor's relationship, once reunited, literally began in a fight. Fighting and secrecy soon became Mel and Taylor's claim to fame.__________________________________________________________________________________________________YESTERDAYEXCERPTS

Tay shrugged. "Don't you think we've reached that point where seeing other people would be considered wrong?""Do you wanna be at that point?""I'm already there," he said. "I can't imagine some other girl in your place."---------------------------------------Tay studied my face. "What?""I think, uh, I think--I think we should see other people.""See other--WHAT?! Is this about today? Mel, those were just fans. You're my girlfriend. I hope...""No--yes--I know--um, just hear me out, okay? In the mall today, I was standing there, looking at all those girls and I got to thinking. Tay, it's not fair for me to be holding you back like this. I think you deserve more than one chance to be happy. And there are so many girls out there that are willing to do that.""Don't you even care about my happiness?!""Yes! That's why I'm doing this. I don't want you to be stuck in a relationship that you feel like you have to be in, just to make the people around you happy--""--I never felt that way.""I know, but--""This is UNBELIEVEABLE!" Tay said, running a hand through his hair. He leaned up against his car. "Who is he?""What?""Who is he? There's gotta be someone else. Who is he?""There's NO one else, Tay! Why WOULD there be?""Then why are you doing this to me?""I told you already! Tay, I'm not doing this for me, I'm doing this for you. You know I care about you--you mean the world to me--""So why are you letting me go?"Tears sprang to my eyes and I got a little choked up. "Because I have to. I want nothing more than for you to be happy." I felt a tear run down my cheek. "So I have to let you go," I said quietly."I should've known this was too good to be true," said Tay. "I finally find you and I can't even have you. But, FINE, okay? Have it your way."He walked away and went into the house.-----------------------------------------The next day, Drew took me over to the Hansons'. She was DETERMINED to set things straight. After all, it doesn't matter WHO you are, you don't mess with friends and Drew was being an excellent friend. I owed her big time for all this.When we got there, she kissed Zac and asked, "Where's Tay?""Oh, he's out with some girl," Ike said, walking into the room.That hit HARD. I mean, sure I'd said see other people, but that was just YESTERDAY!We weren't there too long when Tay walked through the door. He saw me and went pale. "Uh, Mel."I didn't want to stay. I stood up. "I think I'm gonna go." Drew looked at me, questioningly. "You can stay," I said to her. "I'll walk."I walked past Tay and out the door. I hadn't quite made it to the road yet when I heard Tay say, "Mel, wait. Please!"I stopped and turned around to let him catch up. "You don't waste any time, do you?!" I yelled."Mel, you said to see other people.""Yeah, but I was thinking it'd take a little more than a day!""I did it to keep my mind off you! It didn't work. If anything I thought about you even more," said Tay."Did you like her?""She was okay.""Did you kiss her?""No.""Why not? What was wrong with her?""She wasn't YOU, Mel, okay? She wasn't YOU. And this is stupid and I don't want to do this. I flat refuse to see other people. I don't want to do it." He took my face in his hands. "Can't you understand that you're the only one I want?" I just stared back up at him. "That you're the only one I could truly be happy with?"Suddenly I felt tears streaming down my cheeks. Tay put his forehead against mine and wiped my tears with his thumbs. "Please, Mel, please. Can we have another chance?"I didn't answer."I'm begging you, please. I want to be with you."I pulled away and wiped my eyes. "I guess it was a pretty stupid thing for me to do, huh? I am so sorry, Tay. God, I am so sorry. I'm willing to give this another chance if you are."-------------------------------------------------------But what Zac had to say was what really threw me for a loop. "Actually, there is a girl," he said with a smile. I could have died. He was finally making it official!"Yeah, right," said Carson with a laugh."No, man, he's serious," said Taylor."Yeah, and guess what else?" Zac said with a toothy smile. That made me want to melt. "She's an older woman!"He laughed and the girls inside were so quiet you could have heard a pen drop. Carson was laughing the whole time. "So what's the lucky girl's name?" he asked.At which point I looked over at Mel, who was looking at Diana with an 'oh my god, I can't believe he's saying that' look."Her name is Drew," said Zac."Oh my god..." I heard Mel say, quietly.-----------------------------------------------------"You made him stop?" she said in disbelief."I HAD to. We were running a very high risk of getting caught. And we were totally unprepared. Anyway, so I told him to stop and he didn't. I didn't mind that the first time. But then I kept telling him and telling him to stop--" I choked up and started to cry. "--it was like he didn't hear me. And he wouldn't stop. So I pushed him off of me and told him to get out of my room. I woke up this morning to find he'd already gone home. Without any warning."Drew jumped up in a rage. "He WHAT? You just wait--""No! You can't tell. Drew, I'm begging you! You can't say anything. You have to promise. PLEASE."She calmed down and sat back down. "You DO know that he deserves to have his ass kicked, right? If he ever even lays a FINGER on you again, I'll kick his ass myself.""Drew, PLEASE. Don't even tell Zac."She gave me a Look. "Uh, okay...""PROMISE me!""Okay! I promise!"I sure hoped so.----------------------------------------------------"No, you didn't. You under reacted. You should have bit me, or slapped me--or KNEED me. Something. I shouldn't have done that to you, Mel. I don't want to be that kind of man.""Tay, you're not. You won't be. I trust you. I trust you with my life.""Why?""Because I love you."There was a silence between us. Tay slowly lifted his head and looked at me, puzzled. "After last night? How could you possibly--?"I wiped his tears off his face and brushed his hair back. "I've loved you since we were kids. I just haven't realized it until now. It's ALWAYS been you, Tay."------------------------------------------------------"It what, Drew?" he said impatiently."It makes me feel confused. Why, Zac? Why do you have to act like this? Please tell me what I did to deserve this.""Nothing, I--I..." he said, sadly, looking down at his hands. "I just can't get hurt. I mean, I see Ike and Taylor going through all these problems. What, with Taylor and Mel and their strange excuse of a friendship. And Ike and his girl problems. I don't want to risk putting myself through a heartbreak."--------------------------------------The next day I hadn't heard from Tay. I didn't really care, though. Not the way I was feeling. By that evening, Drew was already sick as a dog and I thought I was getting it. My throat was sore, my nose was beginning to run, my head hurt, and I was running a fever of 101. I called Drew. "Are you sick?" I asked."I'm not sick," she said. "I'm DYING.""I think you gave it to me. I have a fever," I said."I'm sorry. I'm gonna go. I don't feel much like talking," she said."Okay."We hung up and I decided to take some medicine and go to bed early. Needless to say I didn't sleep that well anyway and to top it off, my phone rang late that night.I let the machine get it and it was Tay. "Mel? Melody, are you there? Look, we need to talk about what you told me in the tree house--"I picked up the phone. "Tay," I groaned. "Not now. Please?""Baby, what's the matter?" he asked."I feel awful. I am so sick!""I'm sorry. What's wrong?""Sore throat, stuffy nose, fever. The works.""Aw, sweetie. How'd you get sick?""I spent the night with Drew last night. She got sick from Zac.""I'm sorry. Hey, I'll let you go so you can get some sleep, okay? I'll see you tomorrow.""Tay? Don't. I don't want you getting sick, too.""And, Mel? I will see you tomorrow. Goodnight."We hung up the phone. WHY did he call again?----------------------------------------------------Tay sat back down on the bed and his expression changed to one more serious. "I, um, I've got one more thing for you--I, uh, hope you like it. I started working on it the night before after you left my house. I thought of you and ideas just came pouring out. There was so much I wanted to say and I think I found the perfect way to say it." He handed me a sheet of paper, folded in half.I opened the paper to find song lyrics. The most beautiful lyrics I'd ever read in my life."Just lay downAnd let your worries sleepDon't think nowThe water's dark and deepCause you knowThat I love you and never let goAnd you knowThat I'll love you foreverI'll love you and never let goYes, I'll love you and never let goJust cry outYeah, I've cried those tears beforeI can feel it nowAs your teardrops hit the floorCause you knowThat I love you and never let goAnd you knowThat I'll love you foreverI'll love you and never let goYes, I'll love you and never let goYou don't have to ask me do I love youAs I hold you it shows how much I doI'm yours until forever endsEvery time I stand before you, you know I'll live a lifetime for youOh, I'll never miss, not ever miss..."Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked up at Tay. "I meant every word," he said."Tay--" I was literally speechless. My mind went blank and I had absolutely not a SINGLE word to say. "I--I don't know what to say.""Tell me you love me."I sneezed and blew my nose.Tay laughed and handed me another tissue. "Well I've never heard an interpretation quite like THAT one."I sniffed and laughed weakly. "I love you.""Really?"I gave him a Look. "You know I do. Tay, this is the most beautiful thing I've ever read. And you--you honestly mean it?""Every single bit of it."--------------------------------------------------Tay pulled me close and hugged me."I just need to get away from here," I said."You wanna come to my house later?" Tay asked. "I promise I'll be nice to you tonight."I laughed at his joke. "Okay. But I gotta finish the house. My parents will be home soon."Tay helped me clean up then he headed home. He said that he and the guys had to rehearse.Later on, I came over to the guys' house to see Tay, Drew, Zac, Ike, and this other really hot guy sitting next to Ike at the dining room table. I stopped and said. "What's up? Nobody called me.""I'm sorry," said Drew."Here, have a seat," said the guy next to Ike. I sat down and he smiled and held out a hand. "Hi, I'm Blaine," he said."Mel. Nice to meet you." I shook his hand.Tay was giving us a Look. Then Ike pulled Blaine over and whispered something to him. Suddenly Blaine went, "Oh, man! I didn't know. Sorry, dude," he said to Tay.I gave the three of them my own Look. What just happened here?We all talked a little bit and then Tay said, "Let's all go on a trip."We all looked at him. The table was silent."What?" said Ike.Tay shrugged his shoulders. "Why not? We could all use a break." He glanced over at me and I smiled to myself."Yeah!" said Drew. "That would be so cool! Just the six of us!""Okay, let's analyze this," I said. "There's you and Zac, and then Tay, Ike, and Blaine. Where does that leave me?"Drew gave me a Look. "Mel. Zac and I don't have to be together ALL the time. You got me.""And when you ARE together?"Drew was silent.Then Tay spoke up. He shrugged his shoulders. "You could hang out with me," he suggested.Zac snickered. "THAT'LL be the day.""Are you serious?" said Drew."Look," Tay said. "She used to be my best friend, alright? So sue me for trying to rekindle that. Get off our backs!"Zac and Drew looked a little taken aback."Okay, wait, wait, wait," said Ike. "Where are we going?""To the beach," I said simply."Since when?" said Blaine."Anybody got any better ideas?" I asked.The table fell silent.Then everyone started agreeing. "Yeah, the beach sounds like a good idea."I smiled in triumph."Okay, so we'll go to the beach," said Ike. "When?""Next Sunday," I said.Ike smiled and looked at me. "You have this all planned out, don't you?""Yep. We leave next Sunday then come home the Thursday after. We all pitch in, take two cars, and stay in two hotel rooms.""Uh, I don't think I want Drew and Zac in the same room," said Tay."Yeah, I agree," Ike said."Excuse me, do WE not have a say in this?" said Drew."Drew, come ON. I am not staying overnight in a room with Ike, Tay, and Blaine," I said.Zac nudged Drew. "She's got a point, babe. Sorry."-----------------------------------------------Ike and Blaine got in the front seat of Ike's car and Drew and Zac started to get in the back."What a second, what's this?" I asked.Ike was halfway in the car when he turned around. "Well we thought it would only make sense if Drew and Zac rode with Blaine and me and you rode with Tay. I mean, think about it.""Well no one asked me!""Look," Ike said. "You complain to us about everyone bothering you about you and Tay, so now we're leaving you alone and you still aren't happy. Just get in the car, you'll survive till we get there. Women!" he said to himself as he got in the car."Yeah, don't worry about it," said Blaine. "You'll be making out by the time we get there." He laughed and got in the car."Well then I want my food," I said.Ike popped his trunk and I got my cooler out and closed it back. I put it in the back seat of Tay's car and then got in the front. "What's that?" Tay asked, looking over his shoulder."Food," I said.Tay grinned at me. "All right! You treat me so well.""And don't you ever forget it.""Okay," Tay said, shifting in gear. "Let's hit it."----------------------------------------------------------The ride there was long, but Tay made it so fun! We got on the interstate and Tay goes, "Here, break out with the food, woman!""Excuse me?" I laughed. "Don't call me woman."He laughed back. "What can I call you?"I turned around and opened the cooler and looked in. "What do you want?""What do you got?""Let's see...chips, Skittles, Little Debbie, popcorn...""What kind of chips?""Barbecue and Fritos.""Fritos!" he yelled."Don't eat them all," I said. "I'll kill you." I opened the bag and took one out. "Catch," I said.He looked at me and laughed. "What? I can't do that while I'm driving.""Learn.""Wait, wait, wait. If we're gonna do this, let's do it the right way." He rolled down all four of his windows."Tay, what are you doing? They'll fly out the window!""Nah, I'll catch it.""No way! That's a waste of chips!""Mel, just throw it.""No!"He began to swerve off the road. "You better throw it, Mel! We're going in the ditch! It's now or never! Life or death! Throw it or die!""Tay, stop it!""THROW it!"I threw it at him and he opened his mouth to catch it, but it hit his nose and flew out the window. He laughed. "I missed!""I told you!" I reached over and rolled up the windows."Okay, okay," Tay said. He reached in the bag and held up a Frito. "Now you catch."I opened my mouth and he tossed it at me. It bounced off my head and I laughed. It landed in my lap and Tay picked it up and fed it to me.We sat there most of the ride, just eating chips and talking. Mainly telling jokes and funny stories. I've never laughed so hard in my life.-----------------------------------------------"Okay, let's hit the beach, dudes, the ladies are waiting!" said Blaine. He threw his arm around Tay's neck.Tay ducked out from under him. "Nah, man, that's not my thing.""Are you serious? There's a beach full of girls in string bikinis out there and--oh! That's right...you have that thing wi--"Ike hit Blaine in the stomach and he shut up. "Mel, you wouldn't mind hanging with Tay, would you? Blaine and I have some things to take care of and I know Drew and Zac are itching to be alone," said Ike. We all looked over at Drew and Zac. They were in their own little dream world."Do I have a choice?" I said.Blaine and Ike followed Drew and Zac out of the room.

Before we went out the door, I asked Tay, "What thing?"Tay grinned at me and put a finger to his lips. "Shhh. You're not supposed to know I have a crush on you."I giggled.-------------------------------------------We walked a little more and then Tay and I found an open spot and started tossing the football back and forth.Tay had just thrown it and it was in the air coming to me when, suddenly, I felt an arm around me and I was lifted off the sand. I turned my head to see that Ike had picked me up with one arm and caught the football with the other one. "Score!" he shouted. Then he put me down."Ike!" I yelled. "That was a perfect throw! I could've caught that!""Yeah, but you didn't," he said.I nudged him. "I wonder why.""Tay!" Ike called to him. "Me and Blaine against you and Mel. Loser buys dinner!""You're on!" Tay called back.As I walked toward Tay, I said, "I am not playing tackle.""Tag is the wuss way to do it!" said Blaine."We're playing tackle!" said Ike."I'm not being QB," I said to Tay when I got to him. "Not if we're tackling.""Ah, man! We're tackling. If we're tackling, I don't want you on my team.""You can tackle me later," I mumbled, grinning.Tay smiled. "Good deal."Just then Tay caught the ball that Ike threw him. "Your ball!" he called.------------------------------------------------"I'm in love with you, Zac."I couldn't even believe what I had just said. He stopped in his tracks and looked at me. He took both of my hands in his and stared into my eyes. "I'm sorry, what did you say?" he asked in disbelief."I'm in love with you," I said, looking deeply into his eyes."Really?""Yeah. I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it."--------------------------------------------Where were they at? We'd been waiting here almost an hour! I was starving! The guys and I spent the time looking in nearby gift shops as we waited, and all the while smells of food drifted in from nearby restaurants. I thought I was gonna die!Finally, they arrived. All over each other, as usual. I was mad, so I didn't care what I said. "I'm sorry, but sometimes there are more important things than taking an hour to find a stupid shirt you never bothered to look for!"I turned to walk toward the restaurant. "Don't worry," I heard Tay say. "She's just hungry. She gets cranky when she's hungry.""How do YOU know," asked Drew."Some things never change."We got in the restaurant, ordered our food, and when it came I dug in. As soon as I felt better, I said to Drew and Zac, "Sorry, guys. I didn't mean to snap at you. I was starved.""Don't worry about it," said Drew. "I understand. We really didn't mean to take that long. We just kinda ended up being a little preoccupied," she laughed nervously.-------------------------------------------I walked into mine and Drew's room to see Drew and Zac making out on her bed. They were so into it, they didn't even hear me come in.I cleared my throat.No response.I cleared my throat louder and Zac shot up off Drew and looked at me with a guilty expression. Drew sat up. "Um, sorry. "I was, uh, I was just leaving," Zac said, standing up. He kissed Drew bye and walked past me to the door. He stopped and gave me the once-over. "Hey," he said. "That's Tay's sweatshirt, isn't it?""Um--uh, yeah. Yeah, it is," I said."So why are YOU wearing it?""Why not, Zac? Tay and I used to take baths together, for Christ's sake. What's wrong with wearing his shirt? It was cold, Tay offered me his shirt--so what?""Yeah, but that's the second shirt of his that I've seen you wearing," Drew said quietly."So WHAT? It was there, it was convenient!" I said out of frustration. "Tay was being nice tonight, I was taking advantage of it, okay? So sue me for trying to clear the air once in awhile. So sue me for trying to have my old best friend back in my life. And you know what else? I'll admit it--I actually like the guy, okay? Does that surprise you?""I don't understand why you and Tay always have to get so crabby about it," said Zac."Are you SERIOUS? Because everyone's always in our business! No one will ever leave us alone about it, and then you wonder why we can't stand to be in the same room together? Because SOMEBODY'S gonna say something! Never fails! You know what else? Maybe I LIKE wearing his clothes! Maybe I LIKE feeling closer to him! And guess what? Tay and I KISSED once!" I gasped sarcastically. "Oh my god! Bet you didn't know that, did you? And you know what? I ENJOYED it! And I'd do it again in a second! Now would you like for me to go on, or is this too much for you to handle?"--------------------------------------------------"So you don't hate him anymore?""Oh, no. Not at all. Except I'm not quite sure how he feels about me.""But if he did like you back, would you guys hook up?""I don't know. I'm not sure if we could handle that kind of a relationship. Do you?""To be quite honest with you, I think you and Tay could do just about anything.""You really think so?""I really think so," said Drew.----------------------------------------------------I was just getting out of the shower when I heard the guys come into the room. I faintly heard their conversation."What are you EATING?" Tay asked Drew."Apples and ranch dressing. Want some?" she said."Uh, no thanks, I'll pass. I'll call you when I need a sick day, though," Tay joked.Wrong joke.Drew went off on him. "Fuck you, okay? Where do you get off, judging me when you don't have much room to talk? You can't even have a decent relationship with Mel, you always gotta leave her in the dark! So who are you to judge me?""Do not even bring up Mel," Tay said. "Why is everyone so fascinated with us? Why can't you just leave well enough alone? You wanna know why we're not together? Because no one will leave us alone about it! And it's a shame, too, because I want to be with her!""Guys, calm down, okay?" said Ike. "This trip is gonna go all to hell if everyone doesn't quit fighting with each other. Drew, Tay was only joking about the food, and Tay--Tay, man, you just gotta calm down. You've been so uptight lately. Loosen up and enjoy the vacation, okay?""Yeah, um, okay," said Tay. "Sorry, Drew."Right about then I was looking in the mirror, pulling up my hair, when I noticed something on my neck. I put down my brush and my hair tie and leaned closer to the mirror to get a better look. It was a hickey! I started to panic. "Oh my god," I said to myself. I shook out my hair and tried to hide the hickey. "Okay," I said. "If I keep my hair just like this, it shouldn't be noticeable."I came out of the bathroom to see Ike, Zac, Drew, and Blaine in the kitchenette and Tay in one of the recliners. "Tay, I need to have a word with you," I said."Can't it wait until later?" he asked."No...I need to talk to you NOW," I said.I headed out the door and he followed me outside. I stopped outside the door and turned to Tay. "Look," I said, pulling my hair back.Tay laughed. "Whoa," he said, tilting my head to the side so he could see better. "Nice!""Tay! What if someone sees it? What am I gonna say?""No one's gonna notice. Chances are, Zac and Drew are gonna be too absorbed in each other and Blaine and Ike are gonna be too busy checking out anything female with nice legs. I wouldn't worry about it if I were you. Just tell them it's a bee sting or something.""Does this look like a bee sting to you??"Tay smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "Well, if all else fails, tell them I hit you."I laughed unenthusiastically.---------------------------------------Tay and I had walked a good ways down the beach and we'd sat down to take a breather. We were sitting there, kissing, when a bright light shined in our faces. "OH MY GOD!"I didn't even have to look up to know that it was Drew. We were busted."Oh, hell," Tay mumbled quietly. "Oh, hell. This is not supposed to happen this way.""Got a good story for this one?" I answered."What the hell is this? What in the FUCK is this?" Drew was losing it. Meanwhile, Blaine and Ike were handing over money."Dude, I told you! I TOLD you!" Blaine was saying to Ike. "That happened to me once. Me and this girl--we hated each other. Turns out we really wanted each other, BAD. You remember that, don't you? Karen...?"Blaine and Ike reminiscing were the least of my worries. How were Tay and I gonna smooth this over?"Um, hey, Drew," I said quietly. "What are you doing out here?""I'd ask you the same thing but I guess I got my answer, huh?" she said coldly. That hurt. And it should have. I deserved to be thrown in the ocean and stung by rays and eaten by sharks--but I think I'd rather have that than Drew being mad at me."Drew, I wanted to tell you, but--" I started."But what? YOU made her keep it secret, didn't you?" she said to Tay."No," Tay said. "It was a decision that we both made.""WE? How long have you two been a WE? How long have you been lying to me?"I felt TERRIBLY ashamed. "Well?" she urged."Um, beginning of June?" I guessed."Yeah," said Tay, putting his arm around my shoulders. He didn't seem to feel as ashamed as I felt. "I love her," he said.That seemed to enrage her. "Beginning of June? Beginning of June and everything's been a lie? All those fights you kept crying to me about--""Oh, no, those actually happened," I said. "I just...didn't exactly elaborate on what we were fighting over.""How could you not tell me, Mel? I thought you were my best friend?""I am--""I don't know anymore. I don't think I know you anymore. Ever since your old best friend entered the picture again, our friendship never meant anything to you, obviously!""Drew, that's not true!" I protested."Oh yeah? Well you're doing a lousy job proving it!" She turned around to walk off.Zac caught up with her and tried to stop her. "Drew, baby, calm down--"Bad move.Drew went off on Zac, too. "You knew, didn't you?""No, I--""Yes, you DID! You knew and you weren't gonna tell me!""No, I DIDN'T know, Drew! Would you just calm down and stop this?" Zac exclaimed. Then he said to her in his normal voice, "Look, I'm sure they had a good reason not to tell.""Yeah, right," she said, looking back at me. "She'd answer my questions but she lied the whole time. She's been lying to me all summer."Zac put his arm around her shoulder. "Come on. Let's walk a little so you can cool off, okay?"Drew threw me one last 'go to hell' look over her shoulder as Tay and I stood up. As she and Zac walked off, I turned and looked up at Tay. I felt my lip quiver and my eyes fill with tears. Tay must have seen it coming, because he gently pulled me into a hug and stroked my hair. "It'll be okay," he whispered.That's when I started bawling. "Shhh," said Tay. "I'm sure if you'll just talk to her you'll work it out.""No it won't. She won't talk to me. I know it. I've really screwed up this time. Why did we even decide not to tell anyway?"Tay was silent. "Um, well...uh...honestly, I'm not exactly sure. And if it makes you feel any better, I never told Ike and Zac, so I'm not off the hook, either.""Yeah, but they'll understand better than Drew will. Tay, I can't afford to lose her. What am I gonna do? She's the best friend I've ever had."Almost immediately I wished I hadn't said that. I looked up at Tay and as if he could read my mind, he said, "Don't explain. I understand." He pulled me close and comforted me some more.He took my hand and we started to walk back up the beach. Soon we caught up with Ike and Blaine, and then Drew and Zac. Ike and Blaine seemed totally cool about it. They wanted to know all the details. So Tay and I told our story.Even though she tried to ignore us, I could tell Drew was listening. Well, how could you not? If it were Drew and Zac instead of me and Tay, I'd be listening, too!We got back to the hotel, but Tay and I made it before Zac and Drew. Outside our doors, I said, "Tay, I don't want you to go."He sort of laughed. "Well we can't sleep outside.""Why not?" I pouted.Tay sighed and smiled at me. "Mel. Come on. You need to talk to her. And get some rest. I think we all need it." He pulled me close and kissed me."Oh, look. The love birds are at it again," we heard Drew say sarcastically. "What's next, a baby? Or do I have to wait until you're showing to figure it out?" She went into our room and closed the door behind her.Tay and I pulled away and the put his hands on his hips and looked at the ground uncomfortably. "Ouch. THAT one hurt," he said.----------------------------------------------------------------My smile faded as I turned toward my door. I took a deep breath. I could feel the tension from outside the door.I walked in and Drew was taking things off her bed, preparing to turn it down. "Drew," I said. "Why won't you talk to me?""What's there to talk about? You've obviously chosen. So why does it matter if I talk to you or not?""I have not CHOSEN anyone. And I won't. I'd never make you choose between me and Zac!""Yeah, well, as much as I'd like to believe that, it's hard after a summer full of lies. Why didn't you tell me?""It wasn't just you, Drew. We didn't tell anybody. Not our parents, friends, relatives, siblings--anyone. Well, except Nana.""Nana knows??""Well if you'd have gone over there any, you'd have found out sooner.""I SHOULD have found out about it from YOU," she said."Yeah, you should have. And I'm sorry. And the truth is, I was dying to tell you everything! From the letter, to our first kiss, to our first date, everything!""Why didn't you?""I guess we were afraid. We didn't want everyone to make a big commotion about it, and then this THING at the mall happened--we were almost swallowed up by a crowd of fans--and then Zac announced to the whole WORLD that you guys were dating and that really sealed our decision. And then there was the band and--it was just a lot of things, Drew. But it wasn't you. I swear."Well I thought I was doing good until somehow our argument turned heated. We must've been pretty loud because all of a sudden our adjoining door opened. It was latched, so it caught. Then there was a pounding on the door."WHAT??" Drew and I both yelled in frustration."OPEN THIS DOOR," Ike said harshly.Obediently, Drew unlatched the door and let Ike in. "I am so sick of hearing all this crap!" Ike said loudly. "All weekend long, somebody's been fighting with somebody else. Mel's fighting with Zac, Drew's fighting with Tay, and now I'm fighting with you two. Now I've tried to be cool about it, and let it slide, but I've heard just about all I can hear. You people are getting on my last nerve. This stops right here, right now!"I nodded. "Good speech, sir," I said, trying to ease a little tension.Behind Ike, Blaine turned his head to snicker.Ike took a deep breath and with a slight smile and a slight nod, said, "Thank you." Then he looked over at me with an annoyed expression as if I'd ruined his moment.I bit my lip and looked at the floor."Now I understand that you guys are having problems," Ike said more quietly. "But this is a vacation and you're supposed to have fun. And if you're gonna argue, don't do it around me because I don't want to hear it. There. I've said my peace, now I'm going to bed." Ike left the room and I latched the door behind him.Then Drew and I got into our beds without a word.---------------------------------------------------Needless to say, Mel and I weren't talking and I was almost relieved. After what Ike said, I couldn't sleep. I got up and grabbed my shoes and headed out to the beach. I had been walking for about an hour when I heard a faint voice calling my name."Drew! Hey, Drew?" I turned around to see none other than Taylor running towards me."Great. I bet Mel put him up to this," I said under my breath."Drew, hey!" he said when he finally caught up with me. I was so pissed that he would even consider talking to me after what happened."What do YOU want?" I asked in disbelief."I wanted to talk to you. I really didn't want you to find out like this," he said, looking at the sand."Well I did." I could feel tears welling up in my eyes. As I felt one slide down my cheek, Taylor pulled me into a hug."I'm so sorry, Drew. I didn't want anything to happen to your friendship with Mel," he said. I could tell he was really sorry for what had happened.I pulled away from him. "I know you are. I mean if I was in Mel's shoes I probably would have done the same thing."He looked at me as we turned and started walking the beach again. "You know," he said with a smile. "This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."I laughed. It felt good, too.--------------------------------------------I knew Drew was avoiding me. There was no way of hiding it. And she and Tay were awfully chummy that day, which made me suspicious. And if she could be friends with him, why couldn't she get along with me? He was just as guilty as I was!I tried to talk to her. All day. But she just wouldn't hear me. So I gave up. I decided to talk to Ike instead. "Ike," I said. "I need help.""Tell me about it," he said. "The air between you and Drew is colder than the ice in that cooler.""I tried to apologize to her. She won't hear me. And why is she all of a sudden talking to Tay?""They talked last night," he said."So she can forgive my boyfriend, but she can't forgive me?? He didn't wanna tell either!""Well, you guys have been friends for years--it hurt her that you didn't let her in on one of the most important parts of your life. She feels left out.""But what if I decided not to tell her at all? Don't I have the right to keep something to myself?""Yes," said Ike. "But that's not the point. The point is you lied to her. That's what she's hurt most about.""So what do I do?"Ike sighed. "I honestly don't know. I really don't. Try to talk to her, guess. That's all I can tell you."-------------------------------------------"Come on," Tay said. "He's just as scared of you as you are of him.""But he can walk on my FOOT? He wasn't scared, he was hungry!" I argued."Crabs don't bite, they pinch. And he's just a little sand crab. How harmful could he be?" Tay said. As if on cue, Tay shouted, "Oh CRAP!" He shook the crab off his finger then shook out his hand. He examined his finger. "The little sucker pinched me!" He turned around. "Damn it," he said through clinched teeth."Here, let me see," I said, turning him around. I took his hand and looked at his index finger. It was pretty red. I kissed it. "All better?" I asked."Yes," he lied. I could tell it was still hurting him.As we sat back down, everyone was laughing. "Yeah, Tay," Ike teased. "How harmful could he be?"I couldn't help but to smile."Very funny," Tay said sarcastically. "Ha ha."-------------------------------------------------------The next day, we left. I woke up that morning feeling pretty horrible. My head hurt so bad and for some reason I hadn't had much sleep.We packed up and left. I didn't want to leave. This week had been pretty fun. And I love spending the quality time with Tay. And I was relieved that everyone finally knew the truth about us.Somehow, Zac and Drew ended up riding with me and Tay. And let me tell you, the ride home was anything but pleasant.

Zac, Tay, and Drew all seemed to be in pretty good moods. I just sat there, listening, half asleep with a pounding headache.I was leaning my head against the door when it all started. Tay reached over and tickled my side. "Cheer up," he said."I'm not feeling very cheerful," I said."Why not?""I just don't. I'm tired.""Well, wake up," Tay said. Then he started messing with me and really getting on my nerves."Tay, stop it," I said."Not until I see a smile," he said."Well you're not gonna get one, now stop it," I said, pushing his hand away. "Leave me alone.""Fine," he said. "I don't see why you have to be such a bitch about it.""Well I don't see why you have such a hard time stopping when you're told to stop," I retorted.The whole car suddenly fell eerily silent.I glanced in the mirror toward the backseat just as Drew grabbed Zac's hand as if she were bracing herself. I could feel the tension from the backseat.But it wasn't as strong as the tension I felt from the driver's seat. Tay's knuckles whitened as he gripped the steering wheel tighter. I didn't even have to look at him to tell that he was highly pissed. I could feel it.No one said anything for a few minutes. Then Tay started to pull the car over. "What are you doing?" I asked."Get out," Tay said when he stopped the car."Excuse me?" I asked in disbelief."I don't want to talk about this here. Get out of my car."I don't know what it was about his tone of voice, but it scared the hell out of me. A lot more than when he yelled at me. I could handle him then. I wasn't sure about now.We went to the front of the car and I leaned against his hood. "Why did you say that?" he asked."Say what?" I said."Don't play dumb with me, you know what I'm talking about.""Well, Tay, you didn't stop. Plain and simple.""Damn it, Mel! Why are you always bringing that up? You know how hard that is on me!" By this time, Ike had pulled over behind us."Maybe I wasn't talking about that, Tay! Maybe I was talking about in the car just now. If you weren't so paranoid, you wouldn't be having this problem.""WHAT is the MATTER with you??""I don't feel good, okay? My head is about to explode and you aren't helping it much. And quite honestly? I think it will explode if I'm stuck in this car with you. I'm riding with Ike.""Oh, so now you're stuck with me," Tay said."Stop picking fights. My brain can't handle it right now. See you in Tulsa."I got in Ike's backseat."What's the matter?" Ike asked."Tay's picking fights again," I said. "Mind if I ride with you? I might kill him.""Uh, sure," Ike said."Thanks."--------------------------------------------That night I went to see Tay. I knocked on his bedroom door and he called for me to come in. I walked in and closed the door behind me.Tay stood up from his desk as I came in. "Hey," I said."Hey," Tay smiled. He leaned over and kissed me."What are you doing?" I asked."A few lyrics popped into my head and I was just seeing if they'd go anywhere," he responded."Can I read what you've got?" I asked."Sure," he said, handing me the paper.I read over the lyrics he had and to be quite honest, I wasn't exactly impressed. "Well..." I said. "From one songwriter to another, it sort of seems to be missing a little something.""It's only a rough draft," Tay said in an annoyed tone. He jerked the paper out of my hand. "Who asked for your opinion, anyway?""Don't you dare start on me," I said. "I wasn't trying to be mean. It was just innocent constructive criticism.""Well don't constructively criticize me unless I ask you to.""Good god, if you're gonna get an attitude with me, I'm leaving," I said, heading for the door."I am not getting an attitude with you, Mel, I'm--""Yes you are!"Soon we started screaming at each other, and all of a sudden, when I was in mid-sentence, Tay goes, "Shut up." He walked across the room, took my face in his hands, and kissed me hard.The kiss made me weak and I was immediately oblivious to everything that had just happened. I fell hopelessly in love with Tay all over again.-----------------------------------------------------I was about ready to say something to Zac. Even though I knew there was nothing he could do about it. He could say that they broke up, but that would make people even more nosy so not only would that not be true, but it would be double the aggravation.Later that day, Drew and I randomly got handed a flier. Party at Sam Greene's house Friday night at 7:00. Bring a date and prepare to party hearty!"Yes!" said Drew. "First party of the year. Hey! I'll bring Zac and you bring Tay.""Yeah, right! They'd get killed!" I objected."No they won't! Half those people will be so drunk they won't even know who they are. Come on, it'll be fun!" Then she lowered her voice. "And we both know it would piss Tay off if you went to one of those parties alone. I know how protective he is over you.""He's not protective over me. We both know that the other one's freedom is important," I said."Whatever," Drew said. "You're both protective over each other."------------------------------------------------We all decided to meet at the party that night. Tay and Zac had to work on music, I had to stay after school, and Drew had left school early.I was the last one to arrive at the party and the first person I saw was Zac. And, oddly enough, without Drew. "Where's Drew?" I asked him."Bathroom," he said."And what's THAT?" I said, looking at the cup of beer in his hand."Drink," he said. "Want one?""No," I said, taking the drink from him and handing it to random guy that passed us. "No drinks for you, unless it's non alcoholic.""What about you? You're underage, too," Zac argued."I never said I was gonna drink.""You're not my guardian," Zac said."No, but I still feel responsible for you. No drinks! I'm gonna go find Tay." I turned around and walked away. Yeah, right. As if he was gonna listen to me anyway.--------------------------------------I walked over to Mel and Taylor and tapped Tay on the shoulder. Without even turning around to see who it was, he simply said in a cocky voice, "No autographs."'Oh hell no,' I thought to myself. I calmly set my dress bag down on the table next to me, then tapped on his shoulder again. Then, in my best dipsy teenybopper voice, I said, "Like, um, and like, I was wondering if like--"That's when Tay cut me off, looking at me as if I were crazy. "Dammit, Drew!" Tay all but yelled at me. "I thought that I was going to have to call some body guards."That was when Mel piped up. "You're supposed to have them with you now," she said calmly.I shrugged my shoulders. "She has a point, Tay."----------------------------------------As I stepped out of the bathroom I heard Zac's cries of "Ow! Easy, Drew, slow down! Drew, it hurts! Isn't there any other way of doing this?"I poked my head in the crack of the girls' room door to see Drew brushing Zac's hair into a low ponytail. Zac saw me through the mirror. "Mel, help me.""Uh-uh. You do not want me doing your hair. You will be screaming for mercy."----------------------------------------"Promise you won't laugh?"I heard a chorus of "Yes!"I slowly stepped around the corner and into the living room.Dead silence. That made me paranoid. I began to look myself over. "What? What is it?" I asked frantically."Nothing," said Tay with awe in his voice. "Absolutely nothing. You look--oh wow. Everything is perfect." Then he slowly sat down. "Give me a minute," he said.-----------------------------------------I felt his gaze on me and I lifted my head to look at him. He was grinning down at me, a warm, content smile that I happened to find very sexy. I loved a man who looked comfortable. "Okay, don't do that," I said, sitting up and taking my hand gently from his.His beautiful smile faded. "Do what?""Smile at me like that.""Why not?""Because I'll floor you."Tay grinned at me more seductively this time. "Oh you will?""Yes," I said, nodding matter-of-factly. "And if you ever give me one of those shy grins that you get when you blush--I'll floor you."Tay shifted in his seat and got comfortable. He placed his arms on the arms of the seat and crossed his right ankle over his left knee. Biting his bottom lip, he concentrated on me. "And don't do that," I said."What?!" Tay gaped at me in disbelief."That--that biting your lip thing. I'll floor you. And there is this thing that you do when you're performing. You kinda lean on the keyboard and that kinda makes me want to--""You want to floor me," Tay finished."Yes," I said.Then all of a sudden Drew turned around in the seat in front of us. "Don't forget the squirmy thing.""Ah, yes," I said. "Don't do the squirmy thing. I'll floor you.""What's the squirmy thing?" he asked.I just grinned at him.---------------------------------------A trio of girls walked past us in the hall and the one in the middle looked at me and goes, "Oh, look, there's the girl that's fucking Taylor Hanson." The girls giggled and kept walking."So what if she is?!" Drew yelled back at them."Drew," I said. "Just let it slide.""Why, Mel? Why do you always gotta let people walk all over you like that?" Then she sighed. "I swear those guys are nothing but trouble."We walked the rest of the way to class in silence. The girl's comment bothered me. I knew I should let it, but it did. I'm not sure what it was--maybe it was the terminology. That I was "fucking" Tay. I wasn't fucking him. I loved him. I loved him and I needed him more than I needed the air to breathe. He was my best friend, as well as my boyfriend. I didn't want other people to perceive our relationship as just sex. I wanted people to remember us for our never ending love for one another. And it hurt me that that girl would say such things about our relationship.--------------------------------------------I called Zac when I got home from Mel's house. I told him that I wasn't coming over and that after I saw Mel so upset I didn't feel like doing anything. Just wanted some time to think. He was very understanding and after I hung up with him I walked upstairs to my room. I opened my door and flipped on the light at the same time. I was startled with what I saw before me. So much it made me jump. It was Taylor sitting on my bed, staring down at the floor."Dammit, Tay! You scared the crap out of me!" Then I thought about it. "How did you get in here?"He didn't look up. All he said was, "The ladder." He sighed deeply and then he looked at me. He had bags under his eyes and he was so pale he looked as though he had lost a few pounds and his hair was a mess."Tay--are you okay?" I asked."Uh-huh," he said softly. I was not convinced. "I can't lose her, Drew," he said as a tear fell down his face."I know. You won't. She loves you too much," I said, walking over to the bed and sitting down beside him. I put my arm around his shoulder and half hugged him. "Hey! I've got an idea how you can talk to her," I said."What? I'll do anything," he said, hopefully."Write her a letter. I'll take it over to her right now," I smiled."You will?" he asked. He looked as though his reason for living had come back to him."Sure. Anything for you guys," I said, cheerfully."Thanks. Do you have a pen and some paper?""Yeah, let me get it for you," I said, walking over to my desk. "Here. You can just write it here, that way when you get done I can just take it on over. She will be so happy to hear from you.""Okay. Just give me a few." He sat down at my desk. He pondered over that short, sweet letter for an hour. "Okay...I'm done," he said, holding it up as if it were his masterpiece."Good." I took it from him and folded it up."Aren't you gonna read it?" He asked, surprised."Nope. It's none of my business," I said, putting it in my pocket. I headed for my door when he spoke up. "Thanks, Drew. You're a life-saver. Mel is lucky to have you."__________________________________________________________________________________________________KEY POINTS CONCERNING THE NATURE OF ZAC AND DREW'S RELATIONSHIP

*At one point, Mel and Drew set up a dinner in order to make Zac jealous. Drew and Zac end up yelling at each other in the parking lot.*Drew's mother stayed out of town a lot on business, and Zac used to sneak over and stay the night with her.*Their relationship was strongly sexually-based. She used to like to make him squirm and they liked to have sex at random times in random places. Some of these included in the woods and on the side of the road on Drew's car.*Zac gave Drew roses for her birthday. The week they broke up, he showered her with flowers until they eventually filled her room to the max.__________________________________________________________________________________________________TAYLOR'S JOURNAL ENTRIES*These journal entries never actually made it in Yesterday. They were sort of a sub-plot meant to be worked in later but never made it. The ones below are only a couple. -----------------------------------"I call her every chance I get, but I always miss her. Literally and figuratively. She's either not answering or she's never home. And that kind of scares me. I mean, it shouldn't scare me because I'm hoping she's getting on with her life, but the part that scares me most is who's with her as she moves on. Has she really "moved on?" I can't help but to wonder if there's someone else in my place. And if there is, is she happy? Does he give her the things she needs? Will he be there for her, even when she's committed the darkest possible sin? And most importantly, could he ever possibly love her the way I do? Could he love all the things I love about her? The way she smiles, the way she laughs, the way her beautiful green eyes light up when he rounds the corner? And every night, as I fall into a sleep filled with dreams of her, I wish that he is a better man than I am. That he'd never hurt her like I did. My beautiful Melody..."-----------------------------------------"I talked to Drew tonight. I don't mean to sound mean, but I hate it when she's here. Only because looking at her makes me think of Mel. Otherwise, she's a great friend. Anyway, she made me realize something. She made me realize that I can't just sit around here, waiting for Mel to call me and tell me to come home. We both know it's not going to happen. But I also can't just sit around and let some punk take her for granted. No one could love her like I do. I have to get her back. I have to talk to her..."__________________________________________________________________________________________________I hope these excerpts and key points help you in your understanding in the happenings of Ten Years And Muses. We are so excited to bring these characters back to life ten years later and it is so fun evolving and maturing these characters and carrying this story into their adult lives. Bringing them on this new journey is so exciting and we hope you enjoy Ten Years And Muses.HAPPY READING!!--Abby

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